Holloway Li furnishes Mother London office with bold-coloured furniture

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Interior design studio Holloway Li has reimagined the office of advertising agency Mother London using bespoke furniture that nods to the 1970s to enhance its industrial setting in Shoreditch, London.

Aiming to create a flexible multi-purpose space, Holloway Li reconfigured the ground floor and mezzanine of the office – located in a former tea factory – to host an open-plan kitchen, dining area and seating space, along with an updated reception area.

Office dining area furnished with red tables by Holloway Li — Bespoke, bold-coloured furniture features throughout the office interior

Bright red tables line the dining area to provide a flexible space for hosting office lunches as well as meetings, events and exhibitions.

Designed by Holloway Li and manufactured by collaborator UMA, these bespoke tables nod to 1970s furniture design and feature a structural foam core encased by a thin layer of fibreglass, chosen for its lightweight materiality.

Dining area within Mother London HQ in Shoreditch — Bright red tables encased with resin fill the dining area

“Whilst celebrating the brand’s distinct and eclectic character, we wanted to reinvigorate the space with a new material palette, in keeping with the furniture’s precursors so there was a retained sense of familiarity for the pre-existing environment,” project designer Ivy Aris told Dezeen.

“Our approach sought to not only elevate the multi-purpose functionality of the building as both an office and a hospitality setting, but also to develop methods of production with our close collaborators UMA and CraftWorks.”

Kitchen area at Mother London HQ — Deep green cabinets and red shelves line the kitchen space

Adjacent to the dining area, an industrial-style kitchen is organised around two sleek stainless steel islands.

Deep green cabinets topped with stainless steel and red-coloured shelving feature in the kitchen and display the agency‘s extensive vintage tableware collection.

“In the kitchen, more muted shades of green and burgundy offset the clinical brushed steel counters, creating an adaptable space suited to shapeshifting from day to night,” studio co-founder Alex Holloway told Dezeen.

“Much of our scheme was shaped by materials with reflective qualities, capitalising on the natural light from the original tea factory’s windows which worked to accentuate the raw charm of the industrial setting,” he added.

Mezzanine area within London office by Holloway Li — Playful pink sofas wrap around the mezzanine

This material palette extends into the renewed 63-square-metre mezzanine area, which is furnished with playful pink sofas from Holloway Li’s T4 collection and complemented by red coffee tables made from salvaged wood.

Meanwhile, at the office’s reception, the studio preserved an existing stainless steel desk and encased its structure with a translucent, glowing fascia. This is set against a backdrop of red curtains and hanging light bulbs, adding a sense of drama and theatricality to the reception area.

Reception desk at Mother London HQ — A glowing reception desk is backed by red curtains

Holloway Li is an interior design studio founded by Alex Holloway and Na Li in 2018.

Other recently completed office interiors include the conversion of a Victorian mission church into a flexible studio in London and a Minecraft-inspired office in Prague.

The photography is by Felix Speller.

Project credits:

Interior design: Holloway Li
Design team: Alex Holloway, Ivy Aris, Jazzlyn Jansen
Project manager/ QS: Holloway Li
Contractor: Craftworks Productions
Metalwork: Steel & Form
Joinery: Craftworks Productions
Furniture procurement agent: Holloway Li
Bespoke furniture (T4, Big Red, Reception Desk): Uma Objects